Kid found the English and Lit to be incredibly easy, but he had a very WTMish education in terms of classical grammar studies, classics, et al - so he didn't have to do the whole "I must sit and memorize word lists so that I can do well on the vocabulary section, figure out if a sentence is grammatically correct and be able to write a coherent essay on with whatever prompt they give me" (they want examples from 'acknowledged literature'). The only thing that gave him any difficulty at all was the time constraint on the essay. He is accustomed to forming a more well rounded argument than they actually want (they don't even care if the facts are wrong or inappropriate to the argument), and I wasn't able to break him of that prior to the exam... Obviously, a sign of maturity is to make one's argument in as few words as possible, but he was disappointed to read essay examples after the fact that were pure cr@p, yet scored higher. As one never knows what a prompt will be until the book is open, one kinda has to punt. Still, he was pleased with his 2 Language scores (770/780 out of 800). Math - that is another story. He had worked through test prep books prior to the exam, but he hadn't truly "learned the test". And 'learning the test' for the SAT math portion is really important, as each question allows for 1-2 minutes. On the SAT math subject exam (the one he has left to take), each question allows for 1 minute 20 seconds. The questions are laid out easiest to hardest, and students are (in theory) not penalized for unanswered questions. However, there are 50 questions, and one hour in which to do them. The test assumes calculator usage, which I understand in this modern age, but personally feel is cr@p. It is deliberately written to be completed "on time" only with the use of a calculator. This is not a problem for most children, but I believe it is discriminatory to lower income kids (the best calculators that do the higher graphing functions cost 50-60 quid), and to those who have not had instruction in how to use the calculators to their full potential. Let's face it: most public school math teachers do not have time to do that. For a top score of 800 on the Math 1 subject exam, a student must answer all questions, and answer them correctly. On the Math 2 exam (which includes Calculus), the metric is slightly different: a student must answer at least 43 questions correctly (and not answer the other questions at all - e.g. cannot answer them wrongly - must leave them blank) to get a top score of 800). Is this possible? Of course it is. Is it attainable for smart kids who aren't whiz bang? No, not really. I'm sure Kid will do just fine, but I personally feel that many kids get the shaft. Like I said - it is a matter of "learning the test". I hate College Board Testing Service. To the core of my being. I will be SO happy when this is over... a

I hear you. I was positive kid was going to "go" with college X. Even though they were being right arses about all sorts of things. He just 'had them in his heart' for whatever reason. And then two things happened: 1. He had to call the admissions officer of college Y for something inconsequential and she was really, really, REALLY nice to him. In a manner that college X had NEVER been. And 2. His Aunt called him and said "Admissions officers know who will be a fit for their school (not just their program). Sure, they are there to sell you something; but they have more people applying than they have slots. If they didn't want you, they wouldn't talk to you, much less be really nice to you. The reason school X is being aloof and putting extra conditions on you at the ninth hour is because they don't really want you." Oof. Talk about an eye opening experience for kid. And same here - I would have expected him to have handled it awkwardly (he is BAD on the phone), but he handled it with grace. Guess they grow up. Sniff. a

Yes - and there was some serious stomping about the house regarding the "self-promotion" thing. The mere fact he had to begin sentences with the word "I" about killed him. Luckily for him, I have based his entire schooling on essays and Socratic discussion, so the concept of writing in general is not strange to him. The SATs, however, have been one, large "WHO on the planet came UP with these ridiculous EXAMS!" They have NOTHING to do with actual STUDIES!" We have good friends (British mum, German father) whose son is over at St. Andrews. He did extremely well on his IB (he was at an Int'l School in Germany), and had excellent exams as well. He decided to take the American SATs simply because they were offered (there are American students at his school). He bombed. Bombed, bombed, bombed. Kid didn't bomb his SAT or his ACT, but I'm guessing that is in large part because he had an American tests tutor. The European/UK style of schooling and overall culture is not 'set up' for such tests. I will be seriously relieved when all of the subject tests are done. a

Hasn't St. Andrews added in some extras as well due to increased demand? a

Wow. In the UK, you can only choose 5 for the UK version of the common app (the UCAS). When your "offers" come in, they are either unconditional (you're in, nothing more is asked of you); conditional (you're in, as long as your last exams or whatever are up to snuff); or rejected outright. And you don't get to pick another five if they are all "rejected" - you can only go into something they call "clearing", which is the big pool of unwanted toys floating around hoping to pick up a slot that someone decides they don't want, (at a uni the student hadn't previously applied to). And clearing doesn't start until after everyone has clicked their "choice" and "insurance" buttons at the UCAS website. (yep - only two out of five) Oh! Even better! The student has to pick their "choice" and their "insurance" prior to receiving their exam results! So if they have a conditional based on exam results due to not having taken a particular course until their last year, they may be choosing a uni they can't even end up going to - Doh! It's a no-win everywhere. ;) a

I read your reply to kid and he got a horrified look on his face as well. I'm the last person he wants to bump into! LOL He's safe - we'll be on two different continents... A

Follow the Prince. A

What Nan said. As always. A

In regards to "fit" - something my sister commented on just the other day really hit home for me: she said that Admissions officers, by and large, know whether or not an applicant is going to be a "fit" for their institution. She wasn't talking about all of the minute variables, but rather about the 'whole' - that each institution has a personality, if you will, and that, even though sometimes students are convinced that "THIS is the school for me!" - it often simply... isn't. Admissions officers have the benefit of being there. They aren't looking at the color glossies or the website. They aren't wandering about on an open day or a site visit. They see the school's students day in and day out, and then they see your kid (well, the application anyway). If your kid has done a decent job of painting a picture of himself, it will be rather apparent to the AO whether or not he 'fits' into the tableaux of said school. It isn't rocket science. Boy howdy am I glad my sister said this, because in the UK system, students have to submit their 1st choice, their 2nd choice and that is it. When a student is looking at 3 offers - one from the "THIS is the uni for ME (but they only offer a general version of my major)" (who have treated him like cr@p), one from the "This is the uni that offers my EXACT major (but doesn't look like Hogwarts, bummer)" (but have treated him with great respect and care), and one that is just an "eh - if I bomb my physics exams, I'll always have you" (but were the very first to respond) -- it certainly winnows the field. It also teaches a valuable lesson in the process: how badly do you (or anyone) want to chase after an institution that clearly could care less about your existence? While paying for the "privilege"! A

I just wrote a four year transcript that had 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th on it. I didn't attach numerical years to them. The uni wants it this year, so I'm putting the graduation date as June, 2013. We've had so many breaks he has probably had the equivalent of two gap years. Whatever. No one cares in the real world. All they cared about was that he had a fascinating application because he has been everywhere known to man (all of those breaks!). A

I vote for satire. With an incredibly sad underpinning. Saltine Cracker / White Bread / Caucasian. Assuming that a modern teenager even knows the racist epithet "cracker" is a bit of a reach, no? And if the writer *is* caucasian, why would he/she be using it as an epithet? What does her sister's job or alma mater have to do with any of what she wrote? What does the last tax record listing price of her parent's home have to do with anything? Especially since the housing bubble has collapsed. Her father has a fatal disease - that probably has a LOT to do with her "worldview" of life, but little to do with her essay. I noticed no one mentioned mom. None of us are in this writer's head. None of us are in the heads of our own children. We do what we can with the resources available to us at the time. The kid either absorbs it or they don't. They either reach for the brass ring or they don't. And sometimes, that brass ring seems very shiny and apparent to everyone but the student for whom it is intended. Not because the kid is selfish, whiny, immature, or any other adjective, but simply because what is going on in *their head* is too overwhelming. The world has been an incredibly frightening place for the last ten years or so - and that is all these kids have memories of. The US has been in two wars concurrently, the housing market has collapsed, people's savings, jobs and sometimes homes disappeared basically overnight - and now kids are being told that there has been a fundamental shift in the economy - that all of those jobs simply won't return. Forget the brass ring - I'm amazed any of these kids can even see the Carousel! We wonder why kids are drowning/losing themselves in social media and escapist television programs. Think about it: if you were 16, would you rather be reading / watching about how the Cypriot banks are taking 60% of their account holder's money, watching the collapse of a major world currency - and then making the logical leap as to what that means to the greater world economy as the first major American city (Stockton, CA) gets the go ahead to declare bankruptcy - or would you prefer to Snapfish your friends a cute pair of shoes? There is a reason "App creation" is so popular. A

That sucks. a

It does not work that way any longer. They are mis-informed. a

They have paintball all over Europe. Even in Germany. The weapons are enormously expensive and look pretty much just like those that take traditional ammunition. a

It is a major route for drugs coming in from the middle east due to its large immigrant population. The drugs don't necessarily stop there - it is a pipeline. a

Usually put out on the street or killed outright by either your family or your community; recognize that most MI doesn't "present' until after puberty. Mental illness is still viewed as "possession by the devil" in many 3rd world nations. Asylums are few, far between, and on the level of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest. Second world countries are much better by comparison. Especially if you have a job. They have access to medications, albeit usually only "old" ones such as Lithium (still the best med out there for most conditions though, so don't knock it...), Haldol, Thorazine (those are antipsychotics), and Phenobarbital for seizures. The side effects of most of them suck, so it is hard for docs to maintain compliance amongst their patients. Even if their patients had things like reliable transportation, money to buy the pills, etc. Also, there is such a HUGE stigma (heck there is a huge stigma in the first world - we're seeing it right now - it's like that scene out of Monty Python, "she's a witch - burn her!"), that most people, if they can at all 'get by', won't seek treatment. a

I completely agree. That would be correct. Statistics show that a mentally ill person is more likely to be a victim of a violent crime than commit one. I wrote an entire post on this. There actually has not been a determination of a mental illness in that man. Something wrong with his mental state or a mental disorder, yes. There is a difference. Mental disorders may encompass things going wrong from genetic problems, brain abnormalities due to various causes (physical illness, injury, etc.). As far as a mental state, there are people in the world who are entirely sane but simply. don't. care. They have taken a look around, seen how they are treated by society, and figure society isn't worth it. TammyS (quoted below) referred to them as "evil". Whether a person is religious or not, that is about the best word the English language has for them. In that vein, here is a great little article written by a medical historian on the very subject. a

I would suggest you watch a movie called Lord of War because this: is not quite reality, but this: Is. a

The Weimar Republic did this in 1928. It was an easing of a previous, much stricter law that banned all weaponry (and included confiscation) that had occurred in 1919 following WWI. In 1938, the year that the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei first introduced any of their laws, legislation was enacted based on the Weimar's pre-existing laws and utilizing the pre-existing records of gun/weapon ownership to unarm the Jews and anyone else they viewed as "untrustworthy". As I said above, this was done successfully (taking away access to guns & weapons) in the 1930s in Europe. It didn't turn out so well for the 'innocents'. Definitely. We can make them have an identifying stamp on their identification card or something. Maybe a small tattoo or microchip - like how we I.D. pets to make sure they don't get stolen or lost. And the animals that aren't adopted? They are euthanized. Hmmm. The former was a very popular concept in Europe during the late 1930s early 1940s. It was that "we, the majority, can have full employment, food and health care if we just go along to get along and do what the government says" that got millions of other folks killed in camps and gulags. It took a whole bunch of people with the idea that every individual had worth, beyond the "greater good" to stop the horror that was occurring. a

I found that stopping cold cereal made a major change in my food budget, in how hungry my teen was throughout the day, and also in his behavior. Hot cereals go a looong way in the price per serving dept. and are very filling. If you go to the Quaker Oats site, they have all sorts of recipes on ways to serve it. My favorite is with an apple, a bit of syrup and butter. It really changes the perception of "oatmeal AGAIN?" He is much more focused on his school work without all of the crap boxed cereals have (even if they are the "low sugar" kind) as well. Also - eggs. A poached egg and a single piece of buttered toast is a great morning meal that will keep even a teen together. A small glass of juice will balance it out. I know everyone is on a budget, but one thing I have discovered is that real butter, used sparingly, is more filling and lasts longer, energy-wise, for kids and adults. Ditto for all 'regular' foods vs their 'fake' counterparts. In the end, we use less, not more. I don't know if it is because it tastes better or what... My kid has never been a major milk drinker, except for the tetra pak kind. One tip I was taught by a very thrifty mom who had two voracious boys when I was growing up was to buy whole milk, pour half of it into a pitcher, and then mix half a gallon of whole, powdered mix back into the gallon jug and shake it all up. She would then keep it at the back of the fridge so it was almost icy cold. When it was empty, she had a jug to continue the process w/o the pitcher. She would wash the jugs in-between. Her sons never knew the difference, and they went through 4-6 gallons a week! In the 70's when prices were through the roof! When milk was on sale, she would buy ahead and put it in her deep freeze. a

Nothing worked for kid: H&S, Nizoral, Neutrogena T-Gel... even straight TAR shampoo! BUT, guess what did? Neutrogena T-SAL. You may or may not be able to find it at your drugstore. Sometimes I end up buying it from Drugstore dot com. But it is a miracle. The salicylic acid takes the old skin cells off and it does double duty helping his face as he rinses it. Every time we run out, his hair goes to pot. a

Pathological liars, narcissists, sociopaths - they all fall under the the Axis 2 umbrella of "personality disorders". Autism spectrum disorders fall under... wait for it... Autism spectrum disorders. The former is exactly what it says: a disorder of someone's personality. Anything from a 'crack' that can be mended (people who have been abused may fall into this category) to someone who is completely, utterly broken (mentally) from society's point of view. These folks will never be 'fixed' by medication or therapy; they are simply not on the same operational plane as the rest of the humans they are walking amongst. ASD folks are, to the best of modern medicine's knowledge, simply wired differently. Their personalities et al are completely intact (I'm speaking in Jungian terms), they have emotional responses to stimuli (albeit sometimes over the top or completely reserved and/or withdrawn), and they form relationships. Unfortunately, ASD folks are often portrayed in the media as completely incommunicative people unable to interact on any level. While there is a very small subset of people who are so withdrawn that they are unable to communicate in any manner (verbal, pictures, computer, etc.), and are so subject to sensory overload that interaction is all but impossible, the VAST majority of ASD folks *are* able to communicate in some manner and *do* make adjustments for their sensory issues. I think it would be a wonderful thing if the media would step up and do a NON sensationalist piece about the actual life of an ASD person. Better yet - many ASD people. Sure, show the bullying. But also show the desire to just fit in, just fade into the walls and go about one's day like everyone else seems to be able to do. People with severe personality disorders have no problems with this - other people's opinions of them mean nothing. There is a distinct difference, and I think it would be a good thing for the public to see. I have to agree with ASD being the "diagnosis du jour". The other thing I wish would occur is that more people would spend some of their mindless internet browsing time just looking at pictures of various genetic conditions. Most "well known" genetic conditions have very distinct physical traits. After you've seen a few pictures, you can recognize things as you walk down the street and watch the TV. I'm not saying that people have this condition or that, but people carry traits all of the time and don't even know it. I actually met someone once with Williams Syndrome. And he really did look just like an Elf. People want to jump to the Dx du jour; they never stop to think about genetics. a

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Shea nut butter. I get mine from Vermont Soapworks. I'm on a medication that causes me to rash from EVERYTHING, but once I switched to their un scented cocoa butter soap bar and the Shea nut for moisturizing - no problems. Even my family stopped having various skin issues. Everything they do is organic, and you can really save on the soap if you buy the "seconds". Good luck A